Mom arrested after children found locked in hot car

Bystanders who saw them near CVS called 911

LA MESA  A mother accused of leaving her two children locked in a hot car in La Mesa was arrested Thursday afternoon after the youngsters were rescued.

Heartland Fire & Rescue crews and police were called about 12:30 p.m. to Grossmont Center where they found the vehicle parked in the sun by a CVS pharmacy, said Heartland spokesman Sonny Saghera.

Bystanders who noticed the children in the black car with tinted windows were able to instruct one of the children, a 4-year-old, to unlock a door, Saghera said. A 9-month-old also was inside the car, which was not running, he said.

When the mother returned she was taken into custody and booked and released on a misdemeanor child endangerment charge, La Mesa police Sgt. Jim Huggins said.

She told officers she had only been gone five minutes, Huggins said.

Paramedics evaluated the children and released them to the custody of their father. “The kids seemed to be OK,” said Huggins.

Saghera estimated the temperature inside the car was over 100 degrees.